The statues are considered sacred in the North, and any damage to them could deliver a huge psychological impact. "If North Korea launches another provocation, our military has developed a plan to respond with air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missiles to strike not only the source of provocation as well as support and command forces, but also some statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il," a government source here said Sunday.

The Ilbo reports that there are 35,000 statues and other ornaments deifying the two leaders in the North. One potential target might be the two huge bronze statues atop Mansudae Hill in Pyongyang revealed last year: